Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL), the largest car exporter and the second largest car maker in the Indian auto market, said on Thursday that it is planning to launch a small car in the Indian market and looking at the slot vacated by the iconic small car Maruti 800, which is currently being phased-out in the country.
It is to be mentioned here that Hyundai India is all set to launch a new small car in the Indian market that will be shelved in the price gap between the Tata Nano and Maruti Alto. The new small car – Hyundai Eon – will be launched in Indian by the end of this year.
The Hyundai Eon will be rolled-out in the price segment of sub Rs 3 lakh, where it will be competing with the likes of Maruti Alto, Tata Nano, Chevrolet Spark, etc. The new Eon model will be positioned below the segment of Hyundai Santro Xing. According to the company, the Hyundai Eon will be launched in petrol and LPG versions, and there are no plans to introduce a diesel variant in this segment.
Hyundai Eon is powered by an 800 cc engine and is expected to deliver a considerably high fuel economy. However, the company is yet to reveal the exact launch date and specification details of the car.
The iconic Maruti 800 is currently being phased-out by Maruti Suzuki in the Indian auto market. The phase-out process started when the company decided to not to launch a BS-IV compatible version of 800 model and discontinue it in a phased manner. With the government’s implementation of new BS-IV emission norms in 13 major cities of the country in April 2010, the car was phased-out of these cities. It is now available in only BSIII compatible cities in the Indian market.
